Women's Lacrosse

Syracuse’s bench has been one of the only constants in the team’s recent poor stretch

Ally Moreo | Photo Editor

Mary Rahal and the rest of the Syracuse bench have contributed to the the strong offensive output.

Regy Thorpe, Syracuse’s associate head coach, spends games barking out orders as he stomps down the sideline. In response, a variety of SU players rush over to the official stationed next to head coach Gary Gait and they wait. Once they get the signal — usually in the form of a midfielder coming to the bench — the player sprints out onto the field, ready to produce, because the offense needs them.

Syracuse has no stars among its top-goal scorers. The team isn’t built that way. This differs from last year, when SU greats Kayla Treanor and Halle Majorana were two pillars of an offense that scored 314 goals.

This season, the No. 11 Orange (8-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) has looked to its bench to recreate a portion of the scoring its starters have provided in the past. In 11 games, substitutes have amounted for 63 goals, 43.2 percent of the team’s scores. That’s a substantial rise from last year’s 24.8 percent.

“We have so many people who have filled in and mixed in,” junior starting attack Riley Donahue said. “Believing in each and every person is just what’s going to work for us.”

SU’s bench mob comprises five key scorers: Mary Rahal, Kelzi Van Atta, Cara Quimby, Alie Jimerson and Emily Hawryschuk.



All offer something different to diversify the Syracuse attack. Rahal has utilized her dodging skill to pour in 16 goals, third on the team. Hawryschuk, fourth with 15 tallies, crowds the crease. Van Atta has posted 12 goals. In her first two seasons, she played 14 games and netted just five. Redshirt freshman Quimby has added 10 goals and three assists in her first full season. And Jimerson, an Albany transfer, has produced eight goals in nine games.

Gait made it a point to play the subs earlier in the season, when Syracuse blew out opponents. The thought process, Gait said, was to prepare the younger players for higher pressure moments later in the season. That strategy has succeeded as the Orange’s diversified scoring showed in its most recent win on March 18: SU’s five core bench players scored nine of the team’s 17 goals in its one-goal overtime win over Harvard.

If Syracuse wishes to get out of its current rut — one win in its last four games — it may need to look to the bench for increased production.

“(The subs) are going to have a great opportunity to get out there and make big plays,” Gait said. “To be honest, not sure who it’s going to be right now. We have a lot of talent, a lot of really good players. Now it’s just a matter of taking that next step.”





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